Compare Costs of Merchant Service Payment Processing Providers

Purpose of This Cost Comparison. Most companies in the merchant payment processing industry are not willing to publish their total cost of service transparently and publicly. That’s their prerogative, but the AngelPay Foundation is committed to providing the most transparency and simplicity possible to our Members. Our comprehensive cost comparison analysis is a reflection of this commitment.

AngelPay Provides a True Apples-to-Apples Cost Comparison. The “Markup %” amounts listed in the raw data table (visible when you click the magnifying glass image link above) are based on publicly available pricing data for each payment processing company’s services. It’s important to understand that payment processors often bundle the card associations’ (aka the Visa / MasterCard / Discover / Amex card networks) unavoidable Interchange fees into their own pricing to simplify their pricing structures. However, many commercial payment processors have a financial incentive to obscure an important fact: All payment processors and their merchants must pay the exact same amount for each type of payment processing transaction. Thus, we subtract the standard Interchange fee from their listed prices to reveal their true markup, which enables us to make an accurate apples-to-apples comparison among all merchant services and payment processing providers.

Interchange Fees Function More Like a Tax than an Expense. The credit card associations function as quasi-governmental organizations by imposing the same Interchange Fees on all merchants equally for each type of transaction. This is exactly the same way that sales taxes work: All companies are required to charge their customers the same transaction tax based on their state or national sales tax laws. This is an important point to understand because it helps to explain why comparing markups (excluding Interchange) between payment processors is even more important than comparing the “All-In” cost. Specifically, the reason comparing markups is more important is because the All-In cost includes the Interchange Fee, but no processor has control over the Interchange Fee and they cannot claim to add any value in exchange for the Interchange Fee. For the same reason, no company can legitimately claim, “We offer better sales tax rates!” in their marketing materials.

Measuring the Added Value of a Payment Processor is Not the Same as Budget & Treasury Management. We have seen one Member say, “Who cares what the markup is; all I care about is the All-In cost.” Of course the All-In cost is important to understand from a budget and treasury management perspective, but the All-In cost doesn’t capture the true comparative difference in “added cost” and corresponding “added value” that payment processors actually can control (as opposed to the quasi Interchange tax that they can’t control). All other things being relatively equal, excluding the Interchange to compare markups between payment processors is a much more accurate measure of the value they are delivering to their customers and their commitment to cost reduction. This is why we display these two metrics separately in our Savings Calculator. (To be clear, no matter how it’s measured, the nonprofit AngelPay Foundation delivers an attractive cost structure, which no for-profit payment processor can sustainably match.)

Beware of Mysterious Companies Offering Unsustainable Teaser Rates. There are some companies with no track-record and no substantive historical background on their websites who make subjective claims about their “industry-leading payment processing solutions”. These companies sometimes claim to provide their services at prices below AngelPay’s nonprofit membership dues. Of course these companies are for-profit resellers operating at a loss, hoping they can attract enough customers to eventually break even. That is not a sustainable business model and those companies will most likely collapse, which will create many problems for their customers.

AngelPay Controls Its Own Infrastructure and Costs. As a nonprofit payment processing platform with highly efficient and automated systems that our team has owned and controlled for decades, AngelPay can legitimately deliver our services at the lowest possible cost in the industry without compromising the quality and reliability of our services. This is an important contrast to the vast majority of other companies in the merchant payment processing industry.

The Data is Clear and Compelling. Most payment processing companies are constantly fiddling with their publicly advertised prices; so the rates they quote you may be slightly different than the rates that we found during our investigation. Nevertheless, all data provided by AngelPay is fairly presented within the proper context. Based on all available data, the overall conclusion is clear: No other payment processing company can sustainably deliver the value that AngelPay provides: decades of experience, exceptional reliability, simplicity, and the lowest cost structure in the industry.

Have You Found Different Prices Somewhere Else? If you see a published price associated with any of the companies listed above that is different than the published prices that we found at the time of our investigation, please let us know and we will adjust our reports accordingly. However, please note: It’s too easy and too common for companies in the payment processing industry to publish teaser rates and short-term discounts to grab customers quickly, but in the fine print they often hide numerous qualifiers and hidden fees, which results in their advertised prices being available only to a tiny number of their biggest customers. For these reasons, before we can change any of the prices for the companies in our Cost Comparison Analysis, we must be presented with pricing data that fulfills all of the following criteria:

The company’s price must be publicly published and independently verifiable.

The price must be available to at least 90% of the company’s customers with no strings attached.

The price must remain in force for at least 60 days from the time we first see it publicly published.

Next Steps: If your organization intends to use any of AngelPay’s payment processing services and you have already visited the Dues Calculator page, then the next step is to submit a Member Application to help us understand your payment processing needs. Upon approval, we will contact you to recommend the best solution for your needs.

You will never receive spam from the AngelPay Foundation. Your personal information is never shared with third-parties without your explicit permission.

Fixed Monthly Fee

Enter the fixed monthly fee that Processor X charges you.

Note: Most processors don’t include all their one-time and incidental fees in their rates. That’s why we give you the ability to include all the fees below to more accurately calculate Processor X’s true cost.

The AngelPay Mission

“Return wealth and power to the creators of value.”

AngelPay

Authorize .Net

Elavon

Braintree

Amazon Payments

First Data

Heartland Payment Systems

Quickbooks Payments

Flagship Merchant Services

National Bankcard

PayPal

Square

WePay

Stripe

Trans First

Chase Paymen Tech

TSYS

Markup %

0%

1.00%

0.20%

1.00%

1.00%

1.50%

0.40%

1.45%

0.30%

0.30%

1.00%

1.00%

1.00%

1.00%

0.20%

0.30%

0.40%

Added $ Markup Per Txn

$0

$0.30

$0.10

$0.30

$0.30

$0.25

$0.05

$0.25

$0.10

$0.19

$0.30

$0.30

$0.30

$0.30

$0.18

$0.15

$0.10

Mthly PCI Fee

$0

$0.00

$35.00

$0.00

$0.00

$19.95

$8.95

$0.00

$8.25

$6.58

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$6.27

$0.00

$6.25

Mthly Stmt Fee

$0

$0.00

$19.99

$0.00

$0.00

$9.95

$15.00

$0.00

$7.95

$9.95

$20.00

$20.00

$20.00

$20.00

$5.00

$9.95

$10.00

Setup Fee

$0

$49.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$99.00

$25.00

Charge-Back Fee

$10

$25.00

$20.00

$15.00

$20.00

$30.00

$25.00

$0.00

$25.00

$25.00

$20.00

$20.00

$20.00

$20.00

$25.00

$10.00

$20.00

Mthly Gateway Fee

$0

$25.00

$10.00

$0.00

$0.00

$18.00

$7.95

$0.00

$7.95

$9.95

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

$30.00

$5.00

$9.95

$10.00

Mthly Min Txn Volume

$0

$0.00

$35.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$4,167.00

$0.00

$25.00

$25.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$5.00

$25.00

$25.00

Termination Fee

$0

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$495.00

$295.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$250.00

Total $ Cost per Month

$200

$1,329.08

$364.99

$1,300.00

$1,300.00

$1,839.15

$506.48

$1,700.00

$424.15

$516.48

$1,350.00

$1,350.00

$1,350.00

$1,350.00

$396.27

$478.15

$549.17

Total % Cost per Month

0.20%

1.33%

0.36%

1.30%

1.30%

1.84%

0.51%

1.70%

0.42%

0.52%

1.35%

1.35%

1.35%

1.35%

0.40%

0.48%

0.55%

% Higher Cost than AngelPay

-

564.54%

82.50%

550.00%

550.00%

819.58%

153.24%

750.00%

112.08%

158.24%

575.00%

575.00%

575.00%

575.00%

98.13%

139.08%

174.58%

Transparent Fees

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Req. Long-Term Contract

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Online Processing Since

1996

1996

~2008

2007

2007

~2000

~2000

~2007

2001

2001

1998

2009

2008

2011

~2000

~2000

~2000

Note #

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Notes:
1. This is when our team founded and launched Authorize.net.
2. This is when our team founded and launched Authorize.net.
3. PCI fee is a mthly “PCI Non-Compliance” fee.
4. Acquired by PayPal in 2013.
5. Amazon was founded in 1994, but their payments service was launched in 2007.
6. First Data usually only works through resellers unless you’re a large company.
7. Approximate start year.
8. Approximate start year.
9. $99/year PCI fee converted to mnthly rate.
10. $79/year PCI fee converted to mnthly rate.
11. Mthly fee adds recurring billing & fraud protection.
12. An integrator/reseller
13. An integrator/reseller
14. An integrator/reseller
15. $75.20/year PCI fee converted to mnthly rate.
16. Many acquisitions make it difficult to identify first online payment processing year.
17. 3-yr contract. TSYS has existed for many years, but online processing since ~2000.

Monthly $ Volume

Enter the average $ processing volume that you process each month.

Fixed or Variable Dues?

Choose between Fixed Monthly Dues or Variable Dues. Fixed Dues provide a guaranteed and predictable low monthly cost. Variable Dues is the same as the more technical term “Interchange-plus,” which may be preferable for some organizations.

As a Member of the nonprofit AngelPay Foundation, this would be your guaranteed monthly dues cost based on the parameters you have configured above. No hidden fees. No surprises.

Note: The membership dues do not include the Interchange Fee charged by the credit card networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover), which all payment processors must charge equally for each type of transaction. AngelPay does not add any markup to the Interchange Fee; so this is simply a pass-through cost from the card networks to our Members.

To see the total cost of your monthly processing, please see the “All-In Cost” comparison at the bottom of the Calculator after you have finished entering all the applicable cost items below for your particular situation.

Your Estimated Dues per Transaction

As a Member of the nonprofit AngelPay Foundation, this would be your estimated processing cost per transaction. No hidden fees. No surprises. (Note: The membership dues do not include the Interchange Fee charged by the card networks. Please see the “All-In Cost” for the all-in cost of your monthly processing.

Current Billing Method

Select the option that best describes how Processor X currently charges you for their services. (Tiered rates are the most common.)

Average Tiered Rate

Select the average tiered rate (including Interchange) that Processor X charges you for their services per transaction.

Note: Most processors don’t include all their one-time and incidental fees in their rates. That’s why we give you the ability to include all the fees below to more accurately calculate Processor X’s true cost.

Average Interchange Fee

Select Processor X’s average Interchange Fee. If you don’t know it, use the default value of 1.70%, which is common for most organizations.

Note: Most processors don’t include all their one-time and incidental fees in their rates. That’s why we give you the ability to include all the fees below to more accurately calculate Processor X’s true cost. Also Note: Interchange is not a “markup”—it is essentially a tax imposed by the card networks—so Interchange is only included in the “All-In Cost” calculations at the bottom of this Calculator.

Markup $ per Transaction

Interchange+ pricing always includes one or more markup expense components. Enter Processor X’s explicitly stated $ markup per transaction. If you don’t know what to enter here, $0.30 per transaction is common. (This does not include all the other fees shown below.)

Markup % per Transaction

Interchange+ pricing always includes one or more markup expense components. In addition to the $ Markup per Transaction, most processors also add a % markup. Enter that here. If you don’t know it, 0.75% per transaction is the industry average. (This does not include all the other fees shown below.)

Enter Processor X’s per-incident chargeback fee. AngelPay’s Chargeback Fee passed through to our Members. We wish we didn’t have to charge anything at all, but this is the actual cost for each incident. We only ask to be reimbursed for our costs.

Your Average Chargeback % per Month

Enter your average chargebacks as a % of your total number of transactions per month. (0.15% to 0.25% is common. If you don’t know what to enter, the average 0.20% will be used.)

All Other One-Time Fees

Enter the total of any other one-time or incidental fees that Processor X charges. (With AngelPay there are no hidden fees or surprises so there are no other fees.)

Monthly Markup

This is the amount that a payment processor adds on top of the mandatory Interchange Fee. (The credit card networks require all banks and processors, including AngelPay, to charge the same Interchange fee for each type of transaction.)

Page Pending

That page will be available soon. This link will be updated as soon as that page is ready. Thank you for your patience.

True Markup %

This is the amount of fees that a payment processor adds on top of the Interchange fees calculated as a percentage of your total processing volume.

All-In Cost %

This is the total cost per transaction (“All-In”), including Interchange Fees and all other added processor fees. This helps to prevent payment processors from manipulating their fee language to claim they are a better choice.

Annual $ Markup

This is how much cost a payment processor adds on top of the Interchange fees on an annual basis.

Difference %

For each Cost Item category, the numbers in this column represent the mathematical percentage and financial cost difference between AngelPay and Processor X.

Novice

Novice Angels study the materials on this website so they can understand why the AngelPay Mission is so important to their community and the broader economy. Then they will learn how to effectively communicate exactly why AngelPay is important to organizations that need reliable, low-cost payment processing and guidance on how to navigate the pitfalls of the merchant services industry. With a little patience and persistence, the rewards can add up quickly.

Apprentice

Apprentice Angels start to spread their wings and see the fruits of their labor.

Executive

Executive Angels feel confident in their abilities and map out a game plan for long-term success.

Superhero

Superhero Angels are destined for greatness in whatever they set their minds to do. Their success with AngelPay is just the beginning. They will fly high above most other mortals for the rest of their lives, but they will always remain humble and they will seek to use their super strengths to strengthen others as often as possible.

Total $ Volume

This is the monthly USD value of all the transactions that AngelPay processes for the Members that come from your Member Network.

Avg $ Volume per Member

Enter the estimated average monthly payment processing volume for the Members that you intend to introduce to AngelPay. For example, if you intend to introduce 10 Members and you think they collectively process approximately $1 million per month, then you would enter $100,000 because that is the average processing volume for all 10 Members ($1MM / 10 = $100K). Make sure you use the average monthly volume on an individual Member basis, (not a collective basis); otherwise, these estimates will be too high.

Number of Network Members

Enter the number of Members that you intend to introduce to AngelPay.

Star

Star Angels begin to organize their time and resources like a small business, developing efficient processes to expand their networks and their rewards.

Hero

Hero Angels have earned enough to be comfortable financially. Now they can stop worrying about existential survival and start thinking about how they will give back to their local communities; although some may continue building the AngelPay Community, too.

Epic

Epic Angels are epic networkers and community builders. They have mastered the artform of flying high without losing their perspective of what is most important in this world.

Legendary

Legendary Angels are living legends. These people can do anything they put their minds to. We are fortunate to have their talents and energies focused on building the AngelPay Community.

Mighty

Mighty Angels are extraordinary human beings on every level. To achieve this degree of success, they have invested heavily in their own personal development, their lives have become beacons of hope to others, and they inspire others to work toward their full potential wherever they go.

Guardian

Guardian Angels see the world differently. With all the money and security they will likely ever need, they are free to explore the world in all its glorious diversity and mystery. They see a planet full of opportunities to improve human institutions, human relations between nations, and the human systems that govern our precious Earth. They feel a sense of duty to use their wealth, power, and talents to reduce the suffering that afflicts billions of people around the world today. From charity work to public policy advocacy, Guardian Angels achieve a kind of immortality by leaving an enduring legacy far beyond their lifetimes.

Estimated Annual Rewards

This is the estimated cash rewards per year that you would receive if your Member Network performs according to the estimates you provided above.

Total Membership Dues

Membership Dues are collected by the nonprofit AngelPay Foundation whenever organizations that you refer to AngelPay sign up for our services. (Note: Affiliates never collect any funds directly from their Network Members. All rewards payments are paid to Affiliates directly from the AngelPay Foundation.)

Top Marginal Rewards Rate

This is the rate that corresponds to the highest level that you have achieved in the AngelPay Rewards Program.

Average Rewards Rate

This is the average Rewards rate that you have achieved in the AngelPay Rewards Program. It is an “average” because the Rewards Program is based on a marginal rate payout system, which means Affiliates are paid at multiple levels depending on which level they have reached in the program. See the Rewards Program FAQ to learn more.

Estimated Monthly Rewards

This is the estimated cash rewards per month that you would receive if your Member Network performs according to the estimates you provided above.

Affiliates should always be aware of the estimated monthly payment processing needs of their prospective Members to ensure that they understand what their prospective Members actually need. With this awareness, Affiliates can determine whether the prospective Member is processing enough monthly volume to justify the time and energy required to explain how the nonprofit AngelPay Foundation can help them significantly reduce their monthly payment processing costs.

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Emergency Contract Triage

Hidden fees, high fees, poor responsiveness, technological lock-in, cryptic terminology, deceptive marketing and communications, unreliable processing tools–these are just a few of the pain points that have driven many merchants away from for-profit payment processors and into the much friendlier environment of the AngelPay Community.

These issues can be quite traumatic. Are any of these pain points adversely affecting your organization, your personal health, or your emotional well-being? If your existing merchant payment services provider does not seem to really care about your organization’s best interests, please don’t hesitate to contact us to see if AngelPay’s Emergency Contract Triage Program can help eliminate or reduce the pain.